Shillong, Aug 23: The Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) has decided to write to the MDA government to pass an official resolution urging the Centre to empower the State against implementation of central laws in Sixth Schedule areas by amending Para 12A(b) of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.

“We will write to the Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on the need to bring a government resolution to amend Para 12A(b) of the Sixth Schedule during the upcoming Assembly’s Autumn Session,” HSPDP secretary and cabinet minister Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar told reporters after the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting held here on Monday.

He informed that the objective of the proposed amendment would be to empower the state not to implement central laws in the Sixth Schedule areas.

He said the party also expects the Chief Minister to take up this matter in the Cabinet for discussion.

The party will be submitting the letter in this regard to the government on August 25.

About Para 12A(b) of Sixth Schedule

Para 12A of the Sixth Schedule deals with application of acts of Parliament and of the legislature of the state of Meghalaya to autonomous districts and autonomous regions in Meghalaya.

Section (b) of the paragraph states that the President may issue a notification by which any act of Parliament will not apply to an autonomous district or an autonomous region in Meghalaya or any part thereof, and any such direction may have retrospective effect.

Earlier, the Meghalaya legislative assembly had passed and adopted a resolution wanting the Centre to invoke para 12A(b) of the Sixth Schedule in which a Presidential notification be issued so as not to apply the Central laws – Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1957 to scheduled areas in Meghalaya.